Charlotte Erupts in Violence as Handicapped Black Man Is Fatally Shot

Keith Lamont Scott, a disabled 43-year-old black man was fatally shot by a police officer, in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday night. The killing resulted in violent protests across the city. Local police officials described the riots as one of the worst incidents of unrest that have taken place in decades. The police resorted to using tear gas as they confronted thousand of angry protesters who took to the streets protesting against the killing.

The governor of North Carolina declared a state of emergency in the city of Charlotte. National Guard was also called in to contain rioting on the streets. Police shutdown portions of uptown Charlotte after a series of gunshots were fired. One man was reportedly shot. Protestors also damaged properties. Bank of America building in downtown Charlotte suffered significant damage. 16 police officers were also injured. Local media houses had to evacuate the area as the protests turned unsafe even for the news media.

Police officials and residents have contradictory accounts of the events that preceded the killing of Scott. Cops alleged that the victim brandished a gun and was given multiple instructions to drop the weapon. Scott’s family claims he was unarmed and reading a book and posed no danger to the police as he was disabled. This incident comes close on the heels of killing of another black man Terence Crutcher. He was shot and killed by officers of the Tulsa police department last Friday.

Black people are killed  at disproportionate rates by the police. Though they form only 13 percent of the total population, 31 percent of those killed by the police are blacks.

Both Donald Trump and Hilary Cinton, who are locked in bitter presidential contest, took to Twitter to weigh on the Charlotte riots.

Critics of Black Life Matters, a black movement that campaigns against violence and institutionalised racism towards African Americans, point out that it is ludicrous to attribute the violence to white supremacism and oppression as Charlotte was a case of black cop defending themselves from armed black men.

The continued killing of black men in police encounters and the consequential belligerent response by the black activists have polarised the political situation in US . Several question marks have been raised about the legitimacy of the state and police as a consequence of the black killings.